Intersections
by Lady Flick
Summary: Who knew one single proposal could turn so many worlds upside down? Zuko/Toph/Sokka. TOKKA, ZUTARA. Drabbles-shot. Twilight Rose2's Challenge.
1. Silenced

**_THEME _: **_Write the Toph/Sokka/Zuko triangle_

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**THIS** is my attempt at _Twilight Rose2's_ May Contest C: it's my first time writing anything other than Zutara o o; so the Zoko might be totally...er...off. Actually, there is still Zutara in here because I just _can't_ resist, I hope it's alright, and I'd definitely appreciate some feedback on this C: I think I've taken a shine to drabbles and such, they're so much easier to write, and quicker, too! But no worries, I just had to take a crack at the challenge, and I'll get back to getting out the next chapters of my Zutara fics, Lol.

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**INTERSECTIONS**

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_**THE Healer.**_

It wasn't like I was _jealous_ or anything. Why should I be? I was perfectly happy on my own; I didn't need a man to complete my already wonderful life. I didn't need any of that, I was independent and successful. The Waterbending Ambassadress for the South Pole! A Master Waterbender, the Head Healer, and a consultant to the Fire Lord himself!

I was doing well without a man at my side, and I was happy.

Happy, happy, _happy_.

I was totally supportive.

Afterall, I was the one who helped set this whole thing up.

It took a single laughing matter, him mentioning that wouldn't it be funny to see if Toph was capable of romance and affection? And then what was supposed to be an experiment turned out to be so much more…

And I guess this was all my fault.

Or, no, fault has a negative connotation.

This was my work, this happy couple, their bliss…this was all courtesy of _me_.

Glaring? No…no I wasn't glaring, that was a smile so fierce and so genuine that it nearly breached the limitations of happiness and love. But only nearly. I was happy for Toph; unconditionally and convincingly happy. Why wouldn't I be? There was no reason for me to feel bitter or resentful.

Those tears?

Oh, they were for happiness.

Naturally.

I put on my best smile for her as she beamed at me, her pale and unseeing eyes bright, wide, beneath her dark fringe. She was glowing with a certain kind of luster that I had never seen her put on before, and I could only smile as she laughed about it, laughed about the romantic setting – the roses, the fountain, the fire-light candles, the unnecessary expanse of stars (because she couldn't _see_ them anyways…)

And as she described it, I kept on smiling.

Even when she mentioned him getting down on one knee, I kept smiling.

On right through the proposal.

I kept smiling.

Even when she told me she said _yes_.

And I could only congratulate her, because of course she would say yes. I wouldn't have encouraged him if I thought she might refuse.

Toph shrugged with a kind of nonchalance that only she could employ at a time like this, lifting her hand to show me the ring, the golden band with a scarlet jewel, befitting that of a future Fire Lady. Her smile weakened just the slightest bit then, the initial shock of getting _engaged_ wearing off. "Does it look stupid on me?" She wondered, as only Toph would.

I shook my head and continued to smile though she couldn't see it.

"No, no, it's gorgeous."

And I still smiled even through the tears.

Glad that she couldn't see it.

-  
-

_**THE Warrior.**_

I didn't know what I was thinking.

Had no idea what made me do it – alright, so maybe I had _an_ idea. But these things didn't just come out of nowhere! For something like this to happen, the thought must have been in my head for a long time, until finally good old liquid courage allowed me to do it. Which was kind of interesting, because I've always been something of a sensible drunk – if that even made sense.

But I was staring at her, at the girl glaring at me through tired eyes, standing at her door wearing an expression of utmost irritation.

"Snoozles?" She grumbled in half a breath, a sound that managed to steal mine from my parched lips, yearning for a taste of that addicting firewater. The girl, the betrothed, tilted her head to the side, looking dully annoyed, hair a mess about her face; disheveled and completely disoriented beneath the flickering torchlight of her front porch.

And never looking so beautiful.

"D'you have any idea what _time_ it is?" The earthbender drawled lazily, not bothering to stifle a yawn. Her mouth opened wide, exposing her row of teeth, her tongue, and then it closed as she sighed, frowning at me, I realized a beat later, waiting for an answer.

I stepped forward, not wasting another breath, another second, "It's three twenty-five," I answered in a rushed whisper, throaty and groggy and completely out of my mind, "A.M." I must have looked stupid, desperate, a total loon – but she couldn't _see_ anyway, and I had never been so grateful.

Toph blinked. "Do you realize what tomorrow is for me?" She inquired pointedly.

I wanted to say that it _was_ technically 'tomorrow' but in my state I couldn't seem to get my tongue around the words.

If she noticed my thundering heartbeat, she didn't say a thing.

"Look—as much as I love chatting, I have a big day ahead of me and—"

I grabbed her face, and crushed my lips onto her flapping mouth mid-sentence.

I didn't want to hear the rest of it; I didn't need to hear the rest of it.

I knew exactly what _tomorrow_ was.

-  
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_**THE Bandit.**_

There was that stupid knocking again, the impatient jabs on the door. Calling me, hurrying me. But I couldn't hurry, I couldn't even move let alone manage to cooperate with the girls tending to my gown, my hair, my nails, my _makeup_.

I was jittery, and they complained, but a retort was always ready on my tongue. I resisted when the offered to put more curls in my hair. I refused when they tried to add another layer of lipstick. I flailed and kicked as they gave me something old and new, and then Katara, after everyone else left, she gave me something blue.

I held it in the palm of my hand, knowing what it was before she closed my fingers around it.

"I want you to have it," she whispered hesitantly, and she must have been stupid or something, to think that I would accept her gift, to think that I didn't notice the reluctance in her voice, the rapid beating of her heart.

I scoffed, saving face, trying to maintain my dignity, as well as hers. "You know I don't wear necklaces."

She closed my fist over it and there was a stilled silence. I didn't know what to do, say, and realized it was best to just stay quiet.

Her hand slipped away from mine. "I want you to have it," the girl murmured, voice strained, strangled, and I wondered, as she walked away, as her footsteps faded with the distance when she headed for the door, if she was crying.

She paused there, at the exit, and I stared in her general direction.

"I'm happy for you."

As she left me there in my room, wearing a wedding dress I couldn't even see, I had to wonder…

When _I_ stopped being happy.

"Marriage jitters," I assured myself, wrapping the necklace, a symbol of her past, her heart, her very being, given to me, given _away_, around my wrist. "That's all."

And I put on my best smile for absolutely no one as I marched towards the door.

"Toph."

I could tell it was him, should have known it was him even before he reached me, but I was too distracted in convincing myself that I was happy. I wondered what he must have looked like – was he wearing a tux? Was his hair tied back? Did he still carry his boomerang?

That last thought made me chuckle. "Came to see me to the altar, Snoozles?"

He didn't laugh.

His heart was racing.

"What's wrong?"

No answer.

"Sokka?"

And then his hands were on mine and I braced myself for another kiss – when it didn't come, I had to insist that I wasn't hoping for one.

"I wanted to apologize—" he began, "I'm—"

But I tore my hands away.

"I'm late for my wedding."

-  
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_**THE Prince.**_

I stood there, probably looking stupid and overly-done in gold and scarlet and jewels and things, fidgeting by the altar, waiting and waiting as the bridesmaids, all looking beautiful in their crimson dresses – a dark-skinned waterbender in particular – moved on down the path to Uncle's song, waiting for the bride to come waltzing down the aisle at her father's arm.

My eyes caught hers then, as she stood at the other side of the altar, amongst the bridesmaids, her, the Maid of Honor, with eyes so blue that she sprung out from the crowd. She looked stunning, I had to admit, the colors so rich against her complexion that any on-looker might have mistaken her for the bride.

I had to tell myself that my heart didn't constrict even the slightest at the thought.

I continued watching those doors, those large double doors, through which the real bride would step, donned in a dress I had yet to see, probably looking so beautiful that all thoughts of waterbenders and bridesmaids would be banished from my head.

And I held my breath, when the music picked up, and there she was, a vision in white and gold, an earth angel, traipsing down the aisle with delicacy I had never seen her practice.

It seemed so natural.

And as she neared, I found that I was wrong.

Thoughts of waterbenders and blue eyes never left my mind, not even for a moment.

And I wondered if maybe all our time spent planning the wedding together, planning the proposal, the decorations, everything Toph claimed she was 'no good at' together…was a mistake.

Toph approached, the veil covering her face, but I knew without needing to see that she was dazzling.

"Hi," she mouthed through the veil, and I let out a breath of relief, bowing fluidly to her father before taking her away, up towards the high priest.

"Hi," I whispered back as we stood before the gray-haired man.

Even as we recited our vows, even as I slipped the ring onto her finger, I was so acutely aware of the waterbender standing in the wings; waiting, watching…

And when I pulled Toph's veil away, I caught a glimpse of that blue-eyed girl, with tears streaming down her face. I told myself to stop thinking about her, to stop wondering, because she never gave me any indication of hesitance, of disapproval, of this marriage. I told myself she was happy for me, and for Toph, told myself she supported us even more than we supported ourselves.

So I bent down and kissed my bride.

-  
-

_**THE Silenced.**_

I smiled through it all, through the entire wedding, keeping my thoughts to myself.

But I wasn't happy.

Not in the least bit was I happy.

I was bitter and resentful and regretful, and this was wrong, but what could I do? Call the whole thing off? No, not after it's gone so far, not when everyone was waiting for this, expected this, and how could I even voice my refusals? So I sucked up my nerve, told my thoughts to shut up, and let the wedding continue.

And as the kiss took place, the thundering applause muffled the sound of my whole world crashing.

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**THERE** is my entry for _Twilight Rose2's_ May Contest C: It's kind of a sad ending, isn't it? I'm not one for sad endings, but I wanted to try something different here. Of course, being a total Zutara fanatic, I feel the need to continue this and expand it into a possible two shot. What do you guys think? Oh, and yes, I'm aware Aang's not in this at _all_ – not even mentioned, actually, but well…I wanted to focus on the triangle (well, _rec_tangle, I suppose).

**IN** Sokka's excerpt, he was at Zuko's bachelor party, by the way, Lol. And he wandered away from it in search of Toph in his drunken haze, who was getting her beauty rest for her wedding the day after. I know this wasn't mentioned, but Zuko's bachelor party was last minute (because he insisted on not having one at all) but Sokka and Aang put one together.

**AS** for Katara, her giving away her mother's necklace was her own way of letting Zuko go (though it was her _mother's_, it would always remind her of Zuko, ever since he took it from her all those years ago). And it really was a symbol of her heart, her love, her selfish happiness – she was letting it all go.

**NOW**, neither Zuko nor Toph realize that the other has reservations about the wedding, or else they would have called it off, but they thought the other was totally happy…so they went through with it. And Toph cut Sokka off because she was scared about her feelings for him (as for the other night, their kiss...let's just say she wasn't so reluctant). And she thought Sokka regretted it, she didn't want to hear him apologizing for it, because there was absolutely nothing to be sorry for.

**AND** that final excerpt was meant to be a shared thought, from all of their points of view C:


	2. Lost

**_THEME _:**_ Write the Toph/Sokka/Zuko triangle_

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**SO** yeah, I decided to expand this. At first it was hard for me to start, and I was going to leave it as a one-shot, but after I got into the starting point, it all just wrote itself and unfolded. And I know I said this would then become a two-shot, but I lied. It might just stretch to a three-shot because because I'm curious as to where this might go, but hey, again, it's up to you guys. It hasn't exactly _concluded_, you'll see what i mean when it gets to the end. But anyway, if you liked the stand-alone one-shot, then feel free to see this fic as such. I just couldn't leave the shot alone and now it's got another chapter C: I hope you like, and thanks to everyone who reviewed the first part, I think I responded to you all, yeah? Anyway, enjoy C:

(And no worries, I'm working on the next chapter for _Sokka's Field Guide_ already and have SO much planned for _Acquiesence_ - which will have a sequel - :D You guys are in for a serious ride)

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**INTERSECTIONS**

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_**THE Lord.**_

I couldn't do this.

I couldn't.

I just…this wasn't right.

It wasn't fair, I thought, that we had to do this, that to save her from her parents we had to do this. It wasn't fair, we both knew, but that didn't stop us, because life was hard and we had to do what we could. I was helping her, and she was helping me, and this might be completely diplomatic, but at least we were friends and we were alright with this.

But that didn't change the fact that this wasn't fair.

Not to her.

Not to me.

She was there, looking as beautiful as ever, as when I proposed, in that ivory and gold-embroidered gown that trailed to the floor. The grand bedroom was ours now, in all its lavish glory, and as we stood there, facing each other, uncertain of what to do, I couldn't help but feel so small, so…unprepared.

For this, for her.

I felt her hand touch my arm. _Don't worry_, it seemed to say, _I don't know what I'm doing either_.

But she only smiled at me, her eyes, pale and milky, filled with understanding and an attempt at humor that I knew would never abandon her face. She really was so beautiful, she grew up right before my eyes, into this swan. Elegant and stunning and every bit as crude as when I met her.

I kissed her then, kissed her because it was what I supposed to do, and her lips were soft and welcoming, and she tasted of wine and something else I knew was entirely her – and it felt good, the kiss, as most kisses do, and I cared for this woman, this girl, my wife…I cared for her like a sister, like a friend, perhaps a best friend, and I kissed her some more.

It didn't feel awkward or strange, it was surprising how normal and easy it was, actually. To be here with her, it felt so natural.

Her hands reached up into my hair and I let mine traverse down her back and up again, tracing the length of her spine.

A single motion and her dress fell in satin rumples to the floor, and she stood there, completely exposed and grinning at me with that Toph smile.

"This isn't fair," she said, arms folding across her chest, "I don't even get to _see_ you."

I laughed because it was funny and she was adorable.

And I kissed her again.

-  
-

_**THE Lady.**_

He wasn't my first.

No, my first was some drunken mistake at a bar come my eighteenth birthday.

But it was the best mistake I had ever made.

It was this warrior, a Water Tribe warrior, who was smashed out of his mind. We were sitting together at the bar and he was sitting on his stool talking about something or other. I remembered listening to his voice, laughing, snickering, because he sounded so drunk, and he made no sense, and I was laughing and laughing and we were buying drinks and then he dropped the 'L' bomb.

And I stopped laughing and he stopped talking and there was just this moment in time where everything seemed to freeze. I couldn't hear the noise, the music, the stomping feet of dancers somewhere further off.

All I could hear was my heart beat.

And his heartbeat.

Both racing and unsure and shocked.

They sounded off rhythm, sharp and loud.

_Dun-dun. Dun-dun. Dun-dun._

I remembered asking him to repeat what he said and that's when he laughed and tried to brush it off, ordering another drink.

But I insisted.

I punched his arm when he wouldn't tell me and he got mad, he stood up, and I was mad because he was mad and he wouldn't tell me again.

Then suddenly, I felt his hands at my arms.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're—" barely left my mouth when he kissed me.

And it was a messy, slobbery, completely uncoordinated kiss. One with traces of liquor and mixed cactus juice, and the smashing together of awkward motions and tongues…and he told me again and again, over and over, in soft sultry whispers that were sobering and inebriating all the same.

"I love you," it came once, swift and delicate, and then again and again in rapid succession as his lips explored my countenance.

_I love you_.

My cheeks.

_I love you._

My nose.

_I love you_.

My eyelids.

_I love you_.

And I could only kiss him back where my own lips could reach, muttering incoherent nothings against his skin that I knew was dark because someone mentioned something or other about that, but I really didn't care, not one bit, not when he was telling me he loved me.

I knew he was drunk, but I didn't care. I let myself soak it all up.

He swept me into his arms, those pathetic warrior's arms of his that turned out not to be so pathetic at all, and we went away to some room. I didn't know whose, but it didn't matter.

That night was the best night of my life, and come morning we had hangovers, but even when I thought he would have forgotten what he said, what went on, he turned to me the moment I woke up and I felt his lips on mine in fervent greeting.

"I love you."

Now I was in that same situation - except I wasn't drunk and he wasn't drunk and he wasn't Sokka. So it really wasn't the same at all, but thinking that it was made me feel a little better.

As Zuko slipped off into slumber beside me, his arms encircled about my form, his hair sweat-matted, his breathing just slightly harsh, I imagined Sokka's voice murmuring that he loved me.

And I cried myself to sleep.

-  
-

_**THE Lovelorn.**_

It was hard, seeing them together, her bearing the Fire Nation insignia. Dressed in reds and golds. I missed her in green. I missed her hair up and messy, I missed her loose clothes, I missed her dirty feet and her punches.

She looked so beautiful, standing there beside him as they made a toast to the Fire Nation, as the country welcomed their new Fire Lord and Lady. She smiled and he smiled and they waved and people clapped.

I sulked in the back, trying my best not to lose my temper.

It was all for political gain, I understood.

To unite the Earth and Fire Nations.

And also for Toph, so she could be free of her parents' chains.

But that didn't stop me from sulking.

Aang was up there, too, congratulating them, looking happy and glad, and he turned to the crowd who applauded him, which was kind of funny because the Fire Nation used to hate him – and I laughed at the irony. The smile melted the instant Zuko started talking.

I didn't hate him, I didn't wish him ill, but I couldn't help but feel angry at the world for taking her away. The girl standing proudly at his arm, looking so magnificent but nothing of the girl she was, used to be, was meant to be. She was smiling, too, and I heard the Fire Lord laugh and I knew she said something funny, as she always does.

And Aang chuckled, too, and she punched him in the arm and my hand touched at the tender flesh of my shoulder, the bruises there healed already.

I missed her, everything about her.

I missed her sarcasm.

Her lack of manners.

I missed her put-downs and her nicknames.

I ordered another drink and took a sip.

It didn't taste the same.

Katara came up behind me and she was smiling, too, and I snapped at her for doing so. She got mad and stormed off and I should have been guilty but I wasn't, because she was lying to herself, smiling so much. It might have been mean but I didn't care. I might have been drunk but I didn't care.

At the moment I hated her for pretending, for trying to be happy, because we both knew she wasn't. And how dare she get mad at me for not lying.

I let her disappear into the crowd and drank my drink, eyes watching the Lord and Lady, and scowled.

She looked so much better in blue.

-  
-

_**THE Liar.**_

I smiled when they came down from the platform.

I smiled when Aang arrived with them.

I smiled as she smiled and smiled as he smiled.

And we smiled, all of us, but I didn't mean it.

Not a single smile given was real.

Aang noticed, I know he did, because he gave me that look, the one that said _what's wrong?_ I had to tell him it was nothing, but he knew I lied. But even so, I smiled. Right through my teeth, but maybe it didn't quite reach my eyes because Zuko came up to talk to me.

His hair, longer now, was pulled back into a top-knot, and he looked sharp and endearing in those dark reds and golds, and he was so striking it hurt. He was smiling, and so I had to smile, too, and I noticed that Toph was talking with Aang and a few of our other friends, and Sokka was nowhere to be seen but I didn't care because Zuko was here and he looked so painfully handsome.

He asked how I was, and I told him fine.

He mentioned that we hadn't talked in awhile and I only shrugged.

"You've been busy."

And it was true.

He was busy with Fire Nation things, with politics and diplomacy, and getting _married_.

He frowned then, soft and concerned and maybe a little hurt but I told myself I didn't care. "I'm never too busy to talk," he answered.

And I felt bad for not caring because I did care and he sounded so sincere.

He offered to by me a drink and I let him, and I smiled and he smiled, and he said something I didn't hear but with the way his amber gaze appraised me in anticipation I knew it was a joke and I laughed. And he smiled in relief because I know he thought everything was alright and that I wasn't mad, and I smiled and he believed me.

We sat at the bar together and he ordered me fruity little drinks, he didn't drink anything, it wouldn't look good as a newly-installed Fire Lord, but I barely drank mine anyways. And he was sitting so casually, his elbows leaning against the counter. He looked so relaxed, so relieved, and I realized that being Fire Lord must be stressful.

I felt bad again, because I shouldn't be mad or bitter or resentful.

I should be happy for him and for them.

Two of my best friends.

Together.

I raised my drink in a toast, but he didn't have one, so he took a glass from someone nearby and we laughed and the poor stranger laughed in good-nature (I'm sure the guy was drunk out of his mind) and we toasted to something that I don't remember.

And we downed our drinks and I smiled and smiled even as he got drunk and confessed that he really did care for Toph even though Sokka didn't think he did, and that he cared for her and loved her. And I smiled as he asked me how I felt about it, and I said I didn't care, and he got annoyed but he was drunk so it didn't matter. And I smiled as he asked me if I ever thought about _us_, and when I asked what he meant he got annoyed again.

"_Us_," he slurred incoherently, "_Us_, you know. _Us?_"

I said I didn't know because I shouldn't know and it was wrong to even consider because he was married now. And he was intoxicated anyways so it didn't matter.

And I smiled even as he stormed away in some sort of mood.

My cheeks were sore, oh so sore, but I still kept on smiling.

Because that pain was so much easier to bear.

-  
-

_**THE Lost.**_

I was so drunk.

_So_ drunk.

I couldn't even walk straight, I was that drunk.

And I wandered the halls of the Palace, trying to find my room in the damned maze. The party was long over and it was the peak of the night and I couldn't think and I bumped into wall after wall, and then I bumped into something that wasn't a wall.

I blinked through the haze and knew who it was within a groggy second.

I tried for a smile and a friendly _what are you doing up?_ but a finger touched my lips and I wondered if maybe I shouldn't be talking, if maybe I shouldn't be here, because the tension thickened, manifested and rose and it was hot, really hot, and I couldn't step away as the space was closed between us.

I sucked in a breath, a sharp intake, and I know I breathed in an exhale and for some reason that thought made me forget the limits of marriage and how wrong this was.

How wrong it could be.

I didn't care.

_We_ didn't care.

We kissed.

My back hit against the wall and we kissed some more and our breaths were hitched and ragged and I knew this was wrong and that we shouldn't be doing this and I protested.

But as those lips, so welcome and warm, whispered _I don't care_, I realized that neither did I.

And we kissed again.

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**ALRIGHT** so there it is :D the two-shot. This chapter was done in an opposing perspective pattern than the first. Chapter 1 went in the order of Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko. This one goes from Zuko, Toph, Sokka and Katara (though I hope that was evident enough, Lol). And again, the last bit was from any of their points of view C: it's a toss up. Aang made it in this one! Lol, a slight cameo from the...er...main character of the series :D So how was it guys? I realized this one's longer than the first one, but, as I said, it just wrote itself.

**SO** it starts out as Zuko and Toph's honeymoon, er...yeah :D Lol and goes to their announcement as Fire Lord and Lady and the party, et cetera. Obviously they were all wandering at night, unable to sleep C: and drunk. And Tokka and Zutara ensued. Oh, and yeah, the reason behind Zuko and Toph marrying was hardly romantic, but getting married didn't seem like such a bad idea, and they actually _do _love each other. But just not as much as they love Katara or Sokka. (For Twilight readers, think Bella/Edward/Jacob :D Lol sans the hostilities between Edward and Jacob)

**WELL**, this was fun :D And I might just create a concluding third part. What do you think?

**D:** Or did I totally slaughter the one-shot?


	3. Beginning

**THEME**-Write the Toph/Sokka/Zuko triangle

_**THEME **_:_ Write the Toph/Sokka/Zuko triangle_

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**HERE** is the final installment of the supposed-to-be-one-shot-turned-three-shot, _Intersections_. The style is different from the first two chapters, and I know the inconsistency might be a disappointment, but the first two had a distinct pattern that paralleled them, and with a third I felt that I'd have to make a fourth to even it out. So it ends like this, and you'll see what I mean when I say it's actually totally random er--yeah. I hope it's still ok, though I feel I've strayed a bit from the actual prompt o o; I just kept writing and writing and it ran away with me.

**ANYWAY**, here it is, hope you like, see you at the end C:

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**

INTERSECTIONS

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**

THE Beginning.

_Long ago, there lived a prince, and he was banished from his homeland because his father didn't see him fit to rule the throne. The poor prince was devastated, and did whatever he could to regain his honor, to be welcomed back into the palace. At the time, the Avatar was still at large, and so he set his sights on capturing the Air Nomad. But as he journeyed after the boy, he found something so much more than honor along the way._

_Love._

_And it was with a beautiful waterbender from the south._

_Their love was forbidden, not only because of their opposing elements, their heritages, or the fact that the waterbender was destined to marry the Avatar. They understood the complications of their love and did nothing to pursue their hearts._

_Despite their unspoken vows, he married the Lady Bandit, an esteemed earthbender from Ba Sing Se who was said to have won a thousand earthbending brawls, and had the face to start them. They made a good pair, uniting the Earth and Fire Nations at last, making amends after everything that has happened between the flourishing countries._

_And for awhile, their marriage prevailed, and the Avatar and his waterbender were married…_

_But when the Lady Bandit gave birth, old conflicts arose._

_It seemed that the healthy baby boy was, in fact, _not_ the Fire Lord's._

_It caused turmoil and chaos and distrust to run between the two Nations, finally merged together, and the couple was at a loss as to what to do. She came clean, revealing the father to be a Warrior Swordsman from the Southern Water Tribe, and to everyone's surprise, the Fire Lord was not angry._

_He laughed._

_Laughed and laughed and said he understood._

_Three long years of peace and harmony, threatened by scandal, but it was fine. They both knew that their marriage was loveless, that their hearts belonged to another, but there was nothing they were able to do. Even if the Lady Bandit left to join her love, the prince would be alone and without an heir…so she remained with him._

_The waterbender from the south was happy for them and the revelation. Then an aunt, she visited the palace often to keep watch over her little nephew, however old feelings surfaced once more. She knew she could not be with the Fire Lord, and it saddened her more and more each day to be so near to him…_

_The Avatar saw this and ordered her to leave him._

_She would not._

_He begged and pleaded for her to leave him._

_She would not._

_He threatened her to leave him._

_And still she would not._

_When he asked her why she would not leave him, she confessed that she did not want to break his heart. And he only replied that she already had. And when she cried, he consoled her, telling her to leave him._

"_Why?" The waterbender asked through her tears, "Did I hurt you so that you no longer love me?"_

_The Avatar shook his head. "I just know you will be happiest not with me, but with him."_

_And even after that, she refused to leave him, because she loved him and cared for her husband._

_Everything seemed to settle back down after a few months, until word of a rebellious group in Ba Sing Se emerged, a group that believed their Lady Bandit was being held in the palace against her wishes, that she was a prisoner in her own home, and this uprising reached across the Earth Kingdom, spurring up cruel rumors of the Fire Nation._

_And soon, another battle was looming._

_It exploded before either the Fire Lord or Lady could protest, and they were in the dawn of a new war. They tried to end it, through diplomacy and negotiations, but neither side was willing to listen. They refused to fight, to be a part of the war, but it was the only way to end it, and so the pair did what they could to protect both nations from the other – which proved a difficult feat._

_They listed the aid of their comrades; the Avatar, his waterbender, the Swordsman of the South, the Kyoshi Warriors, the Freedom Fighters…they all arrived to help, to calm the fighting._

_During a particularly brutal civil war, a firebender shot lightning and aimed to kill the Lord who was distracted in fending off his own people from harming Earth Kingdom civilians._

_The Avatar took the fatal blow and fell._

_His wife rushed to his side, trying to heal him, trying to save him, but he knew his life was finished and he only gave her a smile, as she knelt there, weeping, with the Fire Lord crouched beside her, telling her that he'd see her again in another life._

"_Why?" She asked of her dying husband, "Why did you do this?"_

_The Avatar only took a deep and strangled breath, closing his hand around hers. "Because I could not take breaking your heart." With those passing words, he left his friends, to ascend into a spiritual world beyond any they could even imagine, and he looked down upon them as they picked themselves up, as they cried and pleaded for him to return, refused to accept his passing, and it was painful at first, to let them go, but he knew it was for the better._

_His death incited a passionate response not only from the Fire Lord whom he saved, but the waterbender, and the Lady Bandit, and the warrior, and all protectors of peace and balance._

_And the war was ended as they threatened to destroy both nations once and for all, in reprise of the incident of Omashu, and the warring ended and peace was restored._

_With the Avatar's passing, the waterbender was free to do as she wished, but she felt obligated to him, even in his death. The Fire Lord urged the Lady Bandit to go with her son's father, and she did so, able to raise the boy with the man she truly loved._

_It took another few years before the waterbender and her prince allowed themselves to finally be together, but on the day they each said 'I do' they were filled with so much happiness…_

_The Fire Lord, so grateful to his dear friend, wanted to forever commemorate the Avatar's unmatched loyalty, friendship, and love, and so made the day of Avatar Aang's passing a national celebration:_

_Avatar Day._

"Is that how it _really_ happened?" A young boy inquired, wide golden eyes curious. His hair was a rich brown, long and unbrushed, his round face curious and filled with child-like innocence.

A young girl, barely five with pale skin and eyes as blue as the water she bent, huffed. "Well _duh_, Fire Lady Katara wouldn't _lie_."

A chuckle emerged from the doorway and the Fire Lady (along with the little children listening to the story) turned to see the Fire Lord, grinning in amusement. "Now who told you that lie, Miss Bei Fong?"

The girl wrinkled her nose, folding her arms across her chest, and fixed the Fire Lord with a stare that could only be mimicked by her mother. "Well, her story makes more sense than _you_ saying that it's actually _about_ you. I wasn't born _yesterday_, you know."

Katara grinned, standing to put the book away. "Well, you know Zuko," she said in jest, giving her husband a teasing smile, "The politician – he's a born liar."

"Alright, enough about me lying," he said in earnest. "Aang, why don't you show your guest back to your room?"

The little boy pouted, "Aww, _dad_, it's a mess! And we were just about to go to the gardens to play!"

The young girl giggled. "Aang. Like Avatar Aang. You don't deserve that name, you're not a hero!" She said, prodding the boy in the forehead.

Aang scowled, snatching at her hand and missing, "How do you know?" He protested, chasing after her as she raced around the library.

"Can you airbend?" She challenged with childlike mockery.

"No, but I'm getting better at waterbending!" He countered, "I'm better at it than you are!"

"C'mon, let's go to the gardens before mom and dad come back to pick me up!" She said, "First one there is the next Avatar!"

Katara laughed, patting her stomach, round now, and due in a few weeks.

Zuko moved over to her, placing his hand over her tanned fingers.

"Ursa, _please_ be a firebender," he teased.

-  
-

Lady Bei Fong of the Southern Water Tribe arrived approached the gardens, grinning as her daughter, third-born, just barely five years old, ran about the gardens with Fire Prince Aang. Her eldest son was training in Ba Sing Se to become a swordsman. And their middle child, another son and proven earthbender, accompanied the eldest. They didn't have more children on the way, but that was fine, she was just glad they had three healthy kids, all of whom she would make certain would excel in whichever field they pursued.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she knew who it was even before turning to greet him.

"Yue," he called to the girl, "Are you ready to go?"

"No!" The little waterbender cried, dashing away with Fire Prince Aang in tow. "We're playing Avatar!"

Toph blinked, "How do you play Avatar?"

Her daughter peered out from behind a tree. "Whoever makes it to the fountain first wins!" She exclaimed, and without so much as a warning, she charged towards the turtle-ducks. Aang complained that she cheated and as the girl danced of her victory on the fountain's lip, he pushed her in.

"_Mom!_" Yue spluttered, pointing at the offender, "He _pushed_ me! Did you see that? He pushed me, mom, did you see?"

Toph rolled her eyes, "No, I didn't _see_. But I know he pushed you."

Yue scowled at the prince through her drenched tresses, "I'm still the Avatar."

-  
-

And she still was, eleven years later.

**

* * *

**

FIN

. Er...yeah, that ending. Totally random. Totally completely random. I swear, I was _not_ planning that, but as I wrote it out I just _had_ to somehow bring Aang back in because his sacrifice was worth it...and I just went off into this tangent of the future and I have _no_ idea how old the main characters are anymore - years older. But not _old_. Maybe in their late twenties or thirties or something. And...yeah. So I wasn't planning on ending this the way I did, I'm sorry if it's not what you guys expected or anything. Oh, and as for Yue being the next Avatar, the cycle follows a pattern, water, earth, fire, air, I believe. So really, either Aang or Yue could have been the next Avatar. And as for Yue waterbending when neither of her parents are waterbenders, I believe that bending abilities aren't passed down that way, seeing as not all descendants of benders become benders (Sokka) I think it's like a gene or something and can skip generations and such, or that's how I'm portraying it.

**ANYWAY**, I'd still definitely appreciate some feedback and such and hope it was at least somewhat interesting C:


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